Life in Karakura
by Mriya
Summary: Everyone thought Kaien had died that night when he impaled himself on Rukia's Zanpakuto. They were told that since his body had been fused with the hollow's, he would never live again. If that is true, then why is he alive in Karakura? Summary sucks. R&R.
1. Waking Up to a Brand New Life

Summary: Everyone thought that Kaien had died that night when he impaled himself on Rukia's sword. They were told that since his body had fused with the hollows, he would never be alive again. If that is true, then why is he now alive in the world of the living? Better yet, why is he living in Karakura?

Disclaimer: Don't own it, never will...unfortunately.

* * *

Kaien woke up from a bad dream. He had dreamed of the night that he died by Rukia's sword in the soul society. That day was his worst nightmare. He could still hear Rukia crying, telling him to come back. He had always hated to disappoint her, but that time, he didn't have a choice. After they had died, he and Miyako had somehow been sent to the world of the living with all of their memories intact.

Miyako's spirit form was still that of a shinigami and so was Kaien's. Except there was one thing he was missing: his sword. It had been gone for only a few months then one day, it miraculously reappeared at his waist. He seemed to have the strange idea that the hollow had kept his form and his sword and had been using it against people. If that were true, then apparently, it was now dead, which made him very happy.

Kaien groaned. He knew he would have to get out of bed sooner or later, but he _really_ didn't want to. Right on cue, Miyako opened the door and came into the room. She stopped at the bed and looked down at him with a look of amusement that she always had plastered onto her face.

"How pathetic," she said. "So many people looked up to you in the Soul Society, and now look what you are. I wonder if they would still look up to you if they saw you now?"

Kaien groaned again and pulled the covers completely over his head. "Why do you do this to me! You're my wife. You're supposed to be sympathetic!" This, however, was slightly muffled by the thick blankets covering his face.

Miyako laughed. "You knew what you were getting into when we were married, so why are you complaining now?"

Kaien pulled the blanket down so that only his eyes and the tips of his fingers were visable and said, "Well, now I don't have to keep those idiots Kiyone and Sentarou on task. This should be my vacation for all those years of hard labor!" Then quickly pulled the covers back up.

Miyako sighed, "I don't know what I saw in you."

Kaiens muffled reply came again. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Sure, you just keep on telling yourself that." Kaien, the king of sarcasm, threw back.

Miyako finally managed to pull the covers completely off of him. That didn't make him very happy. He jumped after bed and threw himself at Miyako in a poor attempt to get the blanket back. Miyako shreaked at her success and ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Kaien tried just about everything to get the door to open. These doors weren't like the ones in the Soul Society that slid open. These ones had high tech locks and a knob. Finally he gave up on his futile attempts to open the door.

"Okay Miyako, you win. I'm getting ready for work right now." he called from the bedroom.

"Finally," Miyako said, emerging from the bathroom.

Kaien put on a black t-shirt and Black jean pants. For some odd reason he always wore black in this world. His brother did too, but he was insane and they hadn't seen him in years. He grabbed the phone that Miyako had forced him to get and walked out the door.

He walked down a street (he didn't know the names) and passed a small medical clinic called the "Kurosaki Medical Center". '_What a strange name.' _he thought.

That thought was cut short when he heard a crash. Then he heard someone yell, "What the hell are you doing, you psychotic old man?!"

Then another, which was surprisingly familiar to him. "What? I'm waking you up for school!"

"Well why do you have to attack me. And another thing! I was awake already!"

"It didn't seem that way to me! Go wake up your sisters and that wonderful third daughter, Rukia."

Kaien froze. Did they just say Rukia? And why was that voice so familiar? The voice sounded like his brother, Issin, but he seemed more detached from the world than usual. Than he saw a man go near the window of the same room the yelling was coming from. Kaiens eyes widened in surprise and horror.

The man _was_ his brother, Issin.


	2. Life is Full of Surprises

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it again?

Okay, chap two is finally up. Thank you to the wonderful people who reviewed, who were Karin-chan9473 and Mizu1411. Just to clear something up, I made it so Issin was related to Kaien for three reasons. One: It would explain why Ichigo looks like Kaien. Two: Issin seems like he would fit in that family perfectly. Three: I was bored. Again, Thank you guys.

* * *

Kaien just stood there staring. He just couldn't believe it. What the hell was Issin doing here in Karakura? Since when did he have kids? With so many questions running through his head, he didn't notice as someone approached him.

"Hey, buddy, you okay?" a man asked from behind him.

Kaien turned around to look at the man. Thankfully, he didn't seem familiar. He'd had enough of seeing familiar people than he could bear. For a split second, he turned back to the clinic and noticed that Issin was no longer near the window.

Finally, he answered the man. Putting a hand to the back of his head he said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

The man smiled. He definitely looked older than he did. His hair was turning gray and he was wearing a charcoal colored business suit that made him seem more important than he probably really was. "You must be new here. Most new people have that reaction when they pass here in the morning."

Kaien stood, looking surprised. "Uh...This is normal?"

The man laughed, "Of coarse! Around here, if you don't hear shouting coming from the clinic, somethings obviously wrong."

"That's comforting to know," Kaien said in a thoughtful, but serious tone.

"Why is that?" the man said, looking confused.

Kaien grinned for the first time today and said, "It makes me feel more at home. I'll have to bring my wife with me one of these days."

"Ha ha! As long as you feel welcome. By the way, I'm Haji Mazukashi. Nice to meet ya," he said sticking his hand out toward Kaien.

"Kaien Shiba. Same to you," Kaien said shaking the man's hand.

Haji smiled again. Was it an impulse or something? Well, it didn't matter. He had just verified that the 'psychotic old man' was really his older brother. Did he have other kids that he annoyed other than the son that had just threatened him? One thought popped into his head. '_What the hell caused us both to move here, of all places?'_

Breaking his train of though, the man said, "Hey, I have an idea. How about you and your wife come over and have dinner with my family and me on Wednesday? We'd love to have you."

Kaien grinned. He was glad this was a friendly place. "Sure. That would be nice."

Haji took out a notepad and a pen and wrote down the address and directions to his house. He tore the sheet off and handed it to Kaien. It said: _4569 Amano St. (it's next to Onose River). _He folded the paper up and put it in his pocket. He and Haji said their good-byes and went their separate ways.

Kaien got to work a little late, but it really didn't matter. His boss would most likely think that he took a wrong turn and got lost, since he was new to the city. He worked as a self defense instructor for kids. He hoped that they wouldn't be too energetic. That was a hopeless request since all kids are naturally born hyper.

He put his bag down and sighed. Why did he have to give in to Miyako taking the blanket away? He didn't want to come here. It reminded him of training Rukia in the Seireitei. She seemed so tiny and defenseless and on top of it all, she had to deal with that bastard of a brother, Byakuya.

"You're late on your first day, Kaien? Well, I guess I can excuse that. Thankfully Arisawa-san showed up. She's gonna help you out for a while. Arisawa-san is the second strongest fighter in the country," his boss said. He was an old man, probably in his late fifties. He looked weak, but if he was the boss of this place, he thought better than to overestimate this man. His name was Tatsu Hanashi. He reminded him of old man Yamamoto.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Tried to take a detour and look where it got me," Kaien laughed putting his hand to the back of his head.

"Is that an impulse or something?" Tatsu asked.

Now Kaien was confused. "What?"

Tatsu cocked his head to the side and said, "Putting your hand behind your head. Oh, never mind. Go through that door over there." He pointed to a door just a few steps to the left of where he was standing.

"Okay. Thanks."

Kaien walked through the door as he was instructed and was greeted with another hallway. _'Lovely. I think this is punishment for being late around here. If it is, I don't like it.'_ he thought with disgust at the old man's sense of humor, but feeling that they were going to be good friends. Then he heard really weird music that went:

_kamigata hen tte itta desho  
sonna anta no hana wo "puun"  
saikin futotta? te kiita desho  
sonna anta no hana wo "puun"_

maaru sankaku nagashikaku  
okao no chuushin ito okashi  
sain kosain tanjento  
anata to watashi wa piroronpii 

It sounded a bit like kid's music. Well, the fact that he would be teaching kids about self defense and swords would probably explain that. He was really hoping this wasn't a mistake. Then he heard an older sounding girl laughing along with children. That would probably be Arisawa. He walked in the nearest room to see a high school girl entertaining the kids that he would eventually have to teach. They didn't seem that hyper. This would be easy.

Before he could think anything else, he was hit with the force of spirit energy. It seemed to be radiating off of every kid in the room. _'What the hell! How is it possible for every single child in here to have reiatsu?_ Thankfully, he was a former lieutenant, so it only surprised him.

Then, every eye in the room was staring at him. He didn't like the feeling. Well, in the Soul Society, people always looked at him, but that was because they expected to get ordered around. The vibe he was getting here was the if-you-have-no-reason-to-be-here-leave vibe. He hated it.

"Who are you," the girl he only knew as Arisawa said.

"I'm Kaien Shiba," he said putting on his strict and dutiful face. "What's with that face. I was expected here, wasn't I?" He could here icicles in his voice which gave him great amusement.

"Uh...I-I'm s-sorry! Y-you just l-look like one of m-my friends and..." she stuttered.

_'Oh damn. I scared her a little too much.' _Kaien thought. He looked at the kids and saw that they were even more frightened. _'Crap. I forgot about them! They're kids. They're not much better than Rukia...Damn! Don't think of her right now. Well, I guess I better end the joke now.'_

Kaien laughed, "Calm down! It was a joke! I didn't realize how scary I was being. Sorry about that. Well, I'm the new instructor, Kaien Shiba. Nice to meet you," he said sticking his hand out for her to shake it, putting on his usual, goofy grin.

He heard the kids starting to laugh and loosen up a bit. They were so emotionally flexible, it was ridiculous. He felt Arisawa also calm down as she shook his hand. She even started to smile a little. She obviously forgave him for the joke, as did the children.

"Tatsuki Arisawa. Nice to meet you, too," she said, not completely convinced he wasn't gonna pull that crap again.

"Now, what about me do I remind you of your friend?" he asked, his irrepressible grin surfacing again.

"Actually everything except the hair and the attitude. My friend has orange hair and is almost always scowling," she explained to him. "You two look so alike, you could be related."

At that, Kaien froze. Could this friend of hers be Issin's son? It would make sense. That would be the only way for him to look so similar to himself. But that would make him an uncle, and that was a very scary thought. He was used to having the family that died along with him and now his brother had been living the life of a human for possibly more than fifteen years. How did he even get out of the Gotei Thirteen?

"Well, that's an interesting thought. Now, do you know where the list of names is? I'd like to know the names of these little guys so I don't have to call every one of them 'kid' or 'hey, you!' I don't think that'd be very fair, correct?"

Tatsuki smiled. "Yeah that might be a good idea. Here."

Kaien took the list and looked it over. It consisted of thirteen names.

_Hinayana, Yukiko_

_Hoshikaze, Wataru_

_Kazeshi, Kaneto_

_Komori, Miyuki_

_Komori, Toshio_

_Lee, Niya _

_Narisaki, Haku_

_Nokomi, Arina_

_Okori, Yuki_

_Shikimori, Miya_

_Shinaki, Kai_

_Shiraki, Kotoko_

_Wakashi, Yumi_

He smiled. This couldn't be too hard. They hadn't thrown anything at him, which was always good. He was almost happy Miyako had forced him to get a job with kids. They were calm and happy, as Ukitake-taicho had always been. Then a little girl got up from her sitting position and walked over to him. She gave him a large piece of folded, decorated paper. He realized it was a welcome card then opened it and read it.

When he finished reading it, he closed it and smiled at the little girl. "Thank you very much. What's your name?" he said as he kneeled to the little girl's level.

"Niya," she answered in a quiet little voice. She was obviously a shy one.

"Well Niya, it's nice to meet you. This is very sweet." he said. She lowered her head and he mentally laughed. _'Well, what do we have here? She's another Rukia.'_

He stood up and Niya went to her place among the other kids. He began wondering if he was going to have to protect her from the wrath of the other kids. He really hoped he didn't have to. It would be too painful for the both of them.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what I need to do here, but I have one question for you, Tatsuki," Kaien said seriously.

"Uh...what is it?"

Kaien looked at her for a moment with his serious, but not scary, face, then broke into a grin and said, "I don't have to wear a uniform, do I?"

Tatsuki stood there in surprise as she realized that he had just been joking with her again. She was mentally debating on whether she should kick his ass there and then or not. She decided against it remembering that he wasn't chosen as an instructor for nothing.

"No, you don't." She said, sounding defeated

"Yes! I hate uniforms," he shouted cheerfully.

The day went pretty good according to Kaien, excluding the part of waking up. He had found his brother, he made a friend and was having dinner with his family on Wednesday, the kids loved him, and best of all, no uniform! He was beginning to like this new life. He had gotten home a little late though. He had gone on a walk around Karakura, becoming familiar with the place. He walked into the house to meet a very ticked off, yet worried, Miyako.

"Where were you, Kaien?!" she shouted at him walking forward in her shinigami form, sword in hand.

"Calm down, Miyako!" Kaien begged, putting his hands up in front of him in surrender.

"Calm down? Calm down? How the hell can I calm down? I thought you got lost! I was going to go looking for you, killing anything and anyone who got in my way! Why I ought to..." Miyako shouted, but was cut short when Kaien started smiling.

"Why are you so worked up? I had a good day. How about you?" he said with his heartbreaking grin.

"You had a _good_ day? What happened to 'I hate kids'?" she asked lowering her sword.

Kaien smiled in shame. "These ones are calm and sweet. Look what one little girl made for me," he said holding up the card that Niya had made for him.

"That's so sweet. What was her name and what was the little angel like?" she asked smiling.

"Her names Niya Lee. She's a sweet little girl. And...she's a whole lot like Rukia used to be," he said, his sadness seeping through his words.

"Oh, that's great. I hope I see her sometime."

"Oh, we've been invited to dinner on Wednesday," his smile returned.

Miyako looked surprised. "Oh really? Niya invited us to dinner? How sweet!"

Kaien laughed, "No, no. On the way to work I got lost and someone helped me along. His name was Haji Mazukashi. We got talking and we got along and he invited us to dinner."

"That sounds like fun," she said, then noticed the grief that had found it's way to Kaiens face. "What's wrong?"

Kaien looked down, not sure if he should say anything. "Well, I took a wrong turn before I met Haji and...I ended up at a place called the 'Kurosaki Medical Clinic'. And..." he trailed off.

"And?" she persisted.

Kaien sighed. "The clinic is run by Issin. I know this because I saw him through a window, and he has kids. A karate student told me that he looks so much like me. He should be about fifteen years old...and I heard Issin say 'Rukia', and I think it might be _our_ Rukia."

"Oh, Kaien. I'm sorry. I had no idea," Miyako said, hugging her husband, who was on the verge of tears.

"No one could have known," he said, still fighting the urge to cry.

"Well, that's a good thing. One of these days, we'll go and visit, letting him know that we're here," Miyako said.

"Yeah. That sounds good to me."

A/N: Okay...I think I should have split this into more than one chapter...oh well. I'm to lazy right now. It took me hours to write this evil thing. Well, I hope you liked it. I'll most likely update again next weekend. Please review. I need feedback! Oh! And the lyrics are from Kira Pika's song Hana wo Puun.


	3. Issues with the Family

Disclaimer: I really don't see the point in this.

Holy crap. I updated twice in one day. I think that's gotta be a record. Just kidding. Well, here's chapter three. Thank you to CandleLight-Soul and Artificial Life Creator for their encouraging reviews. Okay, I'll go on with the story. Oh yeah, the last two chapters were placed on a Monday.

* * *

Tuesday morning, Kaien woke up feeling like something was missing in the room. He looked over to the other side of the bed and noticed that Miyako wasn't there. He also noticed that he couldn't feel her reiatsu either. That bothered him because she could never hide her reiatsu completely in the living world. He figured that she was just getting her revenge for him being so late last night, so he just got dressed and walked into the kitchen to get some breakfast.

When he got there, he noticed a note on the refrigerator that Miyako had written. It said:

_Kaien,_

_I knew this would be the first thing you actually saw, so pay attention _before_ you open the refrigerator. I went for a walk myself, seeing as it put you in such a good mood last night, but this time I'm actually telling you. Don't destroy the house while I'm gone and don't be late for work. That old man doesn't run that place for nothing._

_Miyako_

Kaien threw the note in the trash and thought, _'So this was revenge. I should have known.' _Kaien got a bowl of cereal (he didn't know how to make anything else) and left for work. This time he was careful not to go the way he did yesterday. That would have been too much for him to handle. He actually got to work on time, but noticed that this time, instead of the parking lot being full, only one spot was occupied. _'Is it closed today?' _

He walked through the double doors and went to what he eventually discovered was Tatsu's office. He knocked on the door and was greeted with a "Come in."

"Uh, is this place closed today, or something?" Kaien said walking in the room.

Tatsu looked up and when he saw Kaien, his face lit up in a smile. "Yes, but I didn't tell you because starting tomorrow you are gonna have to teach more people to teach."

"What? Thirteen kids isn't enough or something?" Kaien said, knowing that his question was pointless and had no meaning to the man.

Tatsu's smile grew as he said, "Actually, you only have to teach them on Mondays and Thursdays. On Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays you teach the other people."

"Okay...so who do I teach on the other days?" Kaien asked, fearing the answer he would get.

Tatsu's grin turned into something evil as he looked at Kaien. He really didn't like that look. "You will be teaching students from Karakura High School."

Kaien knew he would hate the answer he got. And he did; he really did. There was a very high chance he would have to teach his own nephew who had no clue he existed, and probably even Rukia...he didn't want to think about how that would turn out. She was always a soft midget, but after what he made her do, it might be even worse.

Tatsu broke his thoughts by saying, "Well, I figured it would be interesting for you to teach people closer to your age."

"Gee, I don't know what to say," Kaien said sarcastically.

Tatsu laughed. "What's wrong with that?" Then he noticed that Kaien wasn't smiling. "What's wrong? Don't you like the idea of teaching high school students how to fight?"

Kaien thought about what he should say. He didn't know the old man very well, but he was sure he could keep a secret, but who could tell? He had only been here for little more than a day.

"Well...I think one of the students might be my...nephew...and another might know me too," Kaien said, sounding defeated and helpless.

"Oh well, I see the problem then. Do you know any of their names?" Tatsu asked curiously.

"Uh...One of their names is Rukia Kuchiki, but I don't know the other name...I think it ends with Kurosaki, but I don't know the first name," Kaien said uncertainly.

"Ah...The Kurosaki's are a strange family. But they are the most spiritually powerful family in the living world," Tatsu said, lost in thought.

Kaien's eyes widened in surprise. Why did he say 'living world'? Did he know about the Soul Society or was it just a slip of the tongue? If he knew about the Soul Society then he probably knew that he was a lieutenant. But that was ridiculous.

"What's wrong, lieutenant Kaien Shiba of Squad 13? Did you think that I am just a normal human?" Tatsu said sounding grim.

Kaien didn't know what to say. This man knew so much. Just who the hell was he? "W-who are you?" he half shouted, half whispered.

"My son used to be a soul reaper, but disappeared from the world centuries ago. I just found out that he was taken to Hueco Mundo. Know one knows if he's still alive," he said sadly.

"What was his name?" Kaien asked.

"Ashido."

Kaien smiled. "I remember him. He was a pretty good friend of mine. Trust me. He wouldn't die so easily.

Tatsu smiled at him. He went into his desk and took out a list of names slightly larger than the one he had seen yesterday. He handed the list to Kaien and closed the drawer of his desk.

The list consisted of **blank** names:

_Abarai Renji_

_Arisawa Tatsuki_

_Asano Keigo_

_Hanakari Jinta_

_Hirasako Daiji_

_Hitsugaya Toushirou_

_Inoue Orihime_

_Ishida Uryu_

_Kojima Mizuiro_

_Kunieda Suzu_

_Kuchiki Rukia_

_Kurosaki Ichigo_

_Kurosaki Karin_

_Kurosaki Yuzu_

_Kusama Shouko_

_Nakadaira Takeshi_

_Nanbu Ken'ichirou_

_Sado Yasutora_

_Suzuki Koutarou _

_Tachibana Mari_

_Tawara Kentarou_

_Terasawa Satoshi_

_Tsumugiya Ururu_

_Umezu Keiichi_

_**Urahara Kisuke**_

_**Kurosaki Issin**_

Kaien finished reading the ridiculously long list of students he'd be teaching and put it away quietly. Issin would be there. So would Rukia. But why were there two more Kurosaki's than usual? Maybe they wanted them to be able to defend themselves, but why would they need to use a sword? Urahara-taicho would be there too. That would be interesting. _'What is their purpose? Are they supposed to be my back-up or something?'_

"Well, now you know what's going to be happening. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't have invited Issin if I had known he was your brother. It must have been centuries since you've seen him. Well, I hope everything goes well." Tatsu said as he watched Kaien walk out of the door.

Kaien went home in silence. Some girls kept watching him and some even followed him. Even stranger, some shrank away from him. _'So this is how Ichigo lives his life.' _he thought in slight amusement. This time, on the way home, he decided to pass the medical clinic, remembering how Issin had always had to have someone hold him down to patch him up after getting hurt.

He got home a little late again, but he didn't really care. Actually, Miyako wasn't even home yet. He snorted. _'She yells at me for getting home a little late, but here she goes. She's been out all damn day.'_ He decided not to tell her that he would finally see his brother after so long tomorrow. It really wasn't worth the effort.

As he was about to make himself dinner and watch TV, he felt his cellphone buzz. He was amazed that he still had his hollow detector/tracer phone. He had found it in his pocket and it amazingly still worked. He opened it and saw that it was extremely powerful. One of the most powerful he had seen. He knew just from the spiritual pressure that it was grand fisher. He sighed and ate a piece of soul candy. He hated the stuff, but Miyako would kill him if he didn't use it. He jumped out of his body and ran out the door, completely unaware of what he would come to face.

A/N: Okay. That's the end of that chapter until next weekend. I'll probably update on Friday or really early Saturday morning at like two in the morning. Well, thanks for reading. Please review if you want. I like hearing what people have to say. It makes me very happy.


	4. A memory that should be forgotten

Disclaimer: This is getting very old...and boring...and now even older...

Okay. Thanks to the wonderful people who reviewed. It is 2:30 AM and I'm not exactly sure how long this chapter will be, but we'll see.

"..." - normal talking

_'...' _- thinking

"**..." **- hollow talking

As Kaien ran down the streets of Karakura, thoughts such as _'What the hell do you think you're doing, you psychotic idiot?'_ and _'Why can't I run faster?'_ ran through his head simultaneously. He had run out the door without a second thought, even though he was no longer a member of the Gotei Thirteen. It was probably just an old habit.

He finally reached the entrance of the place his phone said the hollow was located. It was a cemetery. Okay, that was a bit strange, seeing as cemeteries rarely contained any spiritual pressure because all the souls were either already in the Soul Society or were unlucky enough to be devoured by another hollow. Ignoring the only logical thoughts he'd had in days, Kaien ran through the cemetery gates.

He ran up the ridiculously steep hill that led to the graves of the past inhabitants of the city. He felt the reiatsu of the hollow, even though it was still an appreciable distance away. _'So. This is where my body will go if I die...Not very comforting.' _After about five minutes of continuous shunpoes, he finally got near the actual location, but felt the reiatsu of two other people. More specifically, two other shinigami.

He walked up to a nearby tree and hid behind it, praying that it would hide him as well as he could hide his reiatsu. He placed his hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou just in case he had to fight without warning. He waited for a minute or so until he heard voices.

**'Well, after all this time, you have finally stopped hiding from me. Took you long enough Kurosaki,"** the voice that had to belong to the hollow said.

Kaien's eyes widened in surprise. _'Damn! Why the hell is he here. Okay, that's one of them, so who is the other?'_ Kaien really wanted to know, but he couldn't risk being seen, so he hesitantly decided not to turn to look.

"Yeah, well if you couldn't find me, maybe you're not as powerful as you claim to be," Ichigo said casually.

Now Kaien was confused. What was with his casual attitude? There were three solutions he could think of. A: He was just stupid, B: He had faced this hollow before, or C: He was really powerful and really bored and/or really ticked off but not showing it. He got the feeling that it was solution D: B and C.

"**Well, well, well. You even brought the little girl. But wait. This time she's a shinigami? What happened to the sweet little human girl she was before?" **Grand Fisher laughed. He was obviously waiting for Ichigo to do something stupid and reckless.

"You do realize that I'm standing right in front of you, right?" an all too familiar voice snapped at the hollow that could probably kill her in a split second.

_'Crap! Now what am I supposed to do? Rukia's there too and that reckless nephew of mine might not be able to kill that thing!' _Kaien was still debating on what to do when Grand Fisher said, **"Oh, and I believe that there's a friend of yours behind the tree over there."**

_'Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!'_ This was very bad. If they saw him, then who knows what would happen. He apparently looked so much like Ichigo, and Rukia could most likely never forget his face and there was nowhere to run.

In the quick second that Ichigo and Rukia looked away, toward the tree that he had indicated, Grand Fisher disappeared from sight.

"Damn! We almost had him this time!" Ichigo yelled.

Kaien heard Rukia sigh. "Lower your voice. It's after midnight."

"Yeah, well it's not really as if anyone can here us."

"Okay, whatever. Well, maybe it might be a good idea to check behind that tree. It might be one of your odd friends spying again and I'm really tired of having to erase their memories." Rukia said in a bored, but irritated voice at the last part of the sentence.

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with. You stay here. I'm guessing it's my turn to erase their memories," Ichigo said. It wasn't a statement as much as it was and order.

"Go right ahead."

Kaien desperately looked for a way to escape as he heard Ichigo's faint footsteps getting closer. It was hopeless. It was more useful of his remaining time to find a way to keep him away. He thought of one. It was risky with Rukia being here.

Finally, pushing away the risks in his mind, he raised his reiatsu to the highest limit he could that would leave him with enough energy to escape. Unfortunately, in this desperate situation, he had kept his reiatsu completely sealed for so long, he couldn't raise enough to have any effect.

_'Okay, this is _really_ bad! Why can't I raise enough reiatsu to keep him away?' _Now he was panicking. The only chance he had was to just run and hope neither of them saw his face. But it was too late. Ichigo had reached the tree and had placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked. Kaien didn't answer.

Ichigo got a little irritated. "Hey! I'm just curious. Who are you?"

In the softest voice he could manage, Kaien said, "Sorry, Ichigo. But I really don't think you or Rukia really want to know the answer to that question."

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock as he heard his name spoken by a complete stranger. "Okay, that's it. You the _hell_ are you and how do you know our _damn names?_" Ichigo yelled. Kaien had hoped that him saying there names so casually, would tell them that he wanted them no harm.

Unfortunately, that wasn't how he took it. Ichigo tried to turn Kaien around to see his face, but Kaien held firm and did not move. He had been hoping this would go better. Then, Kaien heard Rukia's confused voice.

"Hey! What's taking you so long, Ichigo?" she called from a few meters away before she began walking forward. Kaien's body tensed. That didn't go so well with Ichigo.

"Do you know this bastard, Rukia?" Kaien did not find it very respectful to call one's uncle a bastard, but knew that he couldn't know better. Ichigo was definitely a decendent of the Shiba clan.

"Oh, yes Ichigo. I can see him really well from all the way back here," Rukia said sarcastically. Kaien had really been a bad influence on her. But he was proud of her. He thought that she would go into a deep depression after she killed him, but instead, she grew stronger.

"Well, hurry up then!" Ichigo called back.

"Please. Don't make her come over here," Kaien said weakly. He was completely paralyzed.

Ichigo, turned back to look at Kaien, or rather the back of Kaien's head. "Why not?"

Kaien paused to think of what to say. Then he said, "I don't think she would be as happy and confident as she is now if she saw me."

Ichigo's grip on Kaien's shoulder lessened slightly. "Why is that? Do you know her from the Soul Society or something?"

"...You could say that."

Ichigo paused for a moment and then regained the strong grip he had on Kaien's shoulder and said, "Well, I really don't know If I can trust you and I haven't even seen your face. So, I hate to break it to you, but you're not going anywhere."

Kaien laughed softly. "Well, let me put it to you this way. My face would scare you more than my name would scare Rukia." Then, as he heard Rukia's tiny footsteps grow even closer, the paralysis left his body and he broke free and ran as fast as he could, away from the cemetery.

"Hey! Get your ass back here!" he heard Ichigo call from somewhere behind him. However, Ichigo made no move to go after him.

Kaien ran the same speed all the way back to his house. He ran in and locked the door behind him. He leaned against the door and slid down into a sitting position. He had never felt so much like a coward before today. He had just run from his _fifteen year old nephew!_ You couldn't get more pathetic than that. He hadn't even gotten back into his body.

Masaki was home. She walked out of the living room and saw her petrified husband sitting in front of the door in his shinigami form. She walked up to him and gave him a comforting hug and asked him what had happened. It took an hour, but he told her everything that had happened and she bugged him no more. He finally got up, got into his body and they headed to bed, hoping that things would be better tomorrow.


	5. Reunion

Disclaimer: I really should find a way to get around this.

I forget what chapter this is, so I won't bother trying to guess. Have fun reading!

* * *

Kaien woke up with a terrible headache on Wednesday morning. He tried to forget about the night before, but the memory was burned into his memory. He looked over and Miyako was, again, missing. He didn't bother wondering where she was though.

He got out of bed, got dressed, and headed of to work. He didn't bother with breakfast, since he didn't have much of an appetite. While he was thinking about what he should tell his boss, he absentmindedly walked down the last street he wanted to be near. He realized this a lit too late, when he heard Ichigo yell at Issin. He tried to walk faster, but it was too late. Ichigo looked out the window and in his peripheral vision, Kaien saw Ichigo's eyes widen in surprise, then anger.

"Dad! There's someone outside you can bother!" he heard Ichigo shout.

_'Shit! That brat's pushing his luck!' _Kaien heard the door open and then close and knew that he had to do something quick. He was never this afraid in his life and he didn't need the pressure. He continued walking, but at a faster pace and soon left Issin and the rest of the family behind.

He got to work about thirty minutes early, so he decided to go for a little tour around the building. While he walked, he thought about what he could say to get his boss to let him leave. When he was done with the tour, he went back to the room where he would be teaching. Five minutes later, he heard the front door open accompanied by people talking.

Still facing away from the door, he heard everyone walk in. He began shaking uncontrolably as he felt everyones eyes on him. He wanted nothing more than to just jump out the window and escape, but he was on the second floor and that would seem a little too odd.

"What the hell?" he barely heard Ichigo whisper angrily. Kaien heard Ichigo take a step forward, then stop. " Then, he heard a shinigami phone go off.

"Ichigo!" Rukia snapped.

"Damn! Couldn't that thing wait for five minutes?"

Kaien sighed in relief. He realized that he didn't know any of their names, so he decided to look for it. When he actually thought about it, that was a really good excuse for why he wasn't looking at them. While he was looking, he heard someone come up behind him.

"Hey, what you looking for? You need any help?" Issin asked. Kaien froze and struggled with the temptation to turn around.

"Uh, I can't find the list of names. I'm sure I'll find it eventually..." his voice sounded a lot lower than what it usually was. "Oh never mind. I got it."

Kaien took a deep breath and turned around. "I'm Kaien Shiba and I'll be your defense teacher for the rest of the year. Now, I guess I've got to take roll."

He could feel everyone's eyes on him, especially Issin's. He saw a lone tear run down his cheek.

Urahara stepped forward and turned to the class and said, "Okay everybody. Apparently Shiba-san isn't quite ready to start the class, so why don't we all just go and walk around the building for a little while."

The rest of the class left and Kaien and Issin were left alone. Issin didn't move; it didn't even look like he was breathing. Finally, he moved, walking toward Kaien until he was standing right in front of him.

"Why are you here?" Issin said shakily.

"Well, I sort of died in the Soul Society. I don't know why they sent me here though," Kaien said casually, as if they had just seen each other the day before.

Then, right on cue, Ichigo and Rukia walked in. Ichigo looked like he was about to kill, while Rukia looked scared to death.

"Kaien-dono?"

* * *

A/N: Yeah, it's a lot shorter than my other ones. I run out of ideas easily. You see, I'm a singer, not a writer so this is very hard. I'm finally starting to write songs, but unfortunately, I don't have music to go with the lyrics, so I gotta fix that. That's part of the reason I'm writing. The other part is that I'm just bored.


	6. Dreams suck

Disclaimer: I'm too lazy, so go look at the last five chapters.

Um...All I can say is that there will be some of you who are going to hate me for this chapter, and you will soon see why. Uh...I think I'll go sit behind that nice couch over there. -runs and hides behind the couch-.

* * *

Kaien woke up with a start. He didn't care that he had woken up due to the fact that he had fallen off the bed, but he was happy that he had just been dreaming. Well, sure. It seemed real enough, but everybody, except for Ichigo, was totally different. He couldn't tell if Rukia was or not, but he'd rather not know.

He looked over to the other side of the bed and noted that Miyako was still asleep and, amazingly, still there. Then, he looked at the clock. It read six o'clock. That meant it was time to wake up anyways. He disabled his alarm and went to the closet. When he opened it, he noticed that everything he owned was black. He thought about changing it for a second, but then thought, _'Ha! The day I change my style is the day Hollows rule the worlds!'_

After Kaien got dressed and ready for work, he went down stairs and left for work without eating anything or even drinking coffee. It was the day that he would teach those evil high school students. Hoping that things wouldn't turn out the way they did in his dream, he realized that he was scheduled to go to Haji's house for dinner tonight. Suddenly, the rest of the walk seemed much more enjoyable.

He got to work about half an hour early, which gave him time to prepare for the hell ride he was about to experience. He couldn't really come up with anything, so he just organized the room to the point that he would be comfortable. Then he heard the door open and froze. This was getting way too familiar to him.

He expected to hear a bunch of people come walking in silently, but instead, he only heard one person. He turned around to see that it was Ichigo.

"What the..." was all Kaien could get out because Ichigo began talking.

"Who the hell are you and why do you look so much like me. And I suggest you answer quickly because the rest of the class will be here in about two minutes." Yeah, he wasn't in a great mood.

Then he saw the door open again and the rest of the class walked in. "Yeah, I think you need to work on your math, boy," Kaien said in a perfect imitation of Byakuya.

"Oh my God! This guy's gonna be so mean!" a kid with shoulder length brown hair wailed from the other side of the room.

"Shut up!" Ichigo snapped. Keigo shut up, knowing this wasn't the time to screw around. Then, he turned back to Kaien and said, "You didn't answer my question."

Just as Kaien opened his mouth to put him in his place, a hollow burst through the window and into the room. Everybody ran away from it, so it was obvious that they could all see it. Kaien saw the one thing that he did not like: the hollow had begun taking the form of his own body. Then he knew that this was the one who had possessed him in the Soul Society.

Then, at the worst possible moment, Rukia came running through the room. A look of shock was plastered on her face as she noticed that there were two Kaiens. Thankfully she pointed the spell she had just begun, at the hollow instead of him.

"Why the hell aren't you dead?" Rukia demanded which made Kaien think, _'Damn! What the hell happened to the Rukia Kuchiki I used to know and tease?'_. That thought, however, left his mind as he saw the hollow unsheathe his sword and say, "Payback."

Kaien saw the hollow lunge toward Rukia and moved. He jumped in front of Rukia and caught the hollow's sword in his bare, human hand. He gathered up all of the spiritual energy he could and released it all at once. Looking surprised, the hollow was disintegrated. He turned around to find it was only Ichigo, Rukia, and himself.

Rukia had a look of pure terror in her eyes and, well, on her face. He really hated that look. Ichigo just looked at him in sheer surprise, his eyes widened to the limit. He hadn't noticed, but at one point, Rukia had fallen onto the floor. He held a hand out, or down, to her to help her up. She hesitantly reached up and grabbed his hand. She was shaking.

"Rukia, quit looking at me like I'm going to hurt you. You should know it's me due to the fact that I hate frilly, white clothing." He just couldn't resist putting a little joke in there.

"That's enough!"

Everyone began to return to the room and they all looked at Ichigo. Kaien heard Rukia's breath hitch in her throat as they both felt Ichigo's reiatsu quickly rise. Five people specifically got away from Ichigo quickly. Their names were Orihime, Ishida, Sado, Mizuiro, and Keigo the annoying wonder. Kaien put on his 'Byakuya' facade.

"Boy! Don't you dare get yourself into something too big for you!" Kaien snapped. At this point, he could really have cared less if he scared Rukia. He just had to calm Ichigo down quick before someone got hurt. Then, at the worst possible time, Issin walked through the door.

"Sorry! I got lost. Now, where is the teacher who was assigned to..." Issin trailed off as he saw Kaien glaring and lecturing Ichigo on how to behave toward his elders. Kaien looked over, but didn't drop his evil (Byakuya) act.

"Who the hell are you?" Issin glared.


	7. Complications

Disclaimer: Oh crap! I didn't prepare any sarcasm for this chapter! What the hell is wrong with me today?

Oh my gosh! I'm alive!...sorry. Well, I finally decided to update my stories. This one came first in celebration that it's gotten over one thousand hits! Not to be scary or anything, but I love you people so much! You don't think what I write is a piece of crap...wow... But anyway, I'm glad you guys like the story. If any of you like Hitsugaya, I have a story up called 'Living in Fear'. Well, that's enough of me talking. Here's the seventh chapter.

* * *

Kaien looked over to Issin, not removing the glare from his face. He looked so different. He usually wore all black, most likely an influence of his shinigami uniform. But now he was wearing an unusually bright Hawaiian shirt. He was wearing a glare almost identical to the one Kaien was wearing.

"I asked you a question, now answer it!" Issin snapped. Kaien recoiled at the demand out of habit. He just wasn't used to Issin talking to him like that, or rather at all.

Keeping his glare on, Kaien snapped, "I should be the one asking the questions. You just barge into my classroom, disrupting a lecture and demanding to know who I am. I believe that's a little too disrespectful." Yeah, he knew he'd have to pay for that.

Thankfully, before Issin could say anything, Kaien's phone rang. Silently thanking any god he could think of, he answered the call to find that it was his wife.

"Hello?" he asked coldly.

"Don't you talk to me like that!" Miyako snapped playfully. "Why didn't you wake me up before you left this morning?"

"Uh...I don't think this is a good time," he said, his voice losing all of his coldness, causing Ichigo and Issin to narrow their eyes in suspicion.

"Oh. So you're saying that what you're doing right now is more important than the arrancar that are about to invade this world?"

"...How many are we talkin'?"

Miyako paused to think or something. He couldn't exactly see what she was doing. "Uh...You won't like it..."

"Just tell me already!" He snapped, making everyone jump in surprise.

"Okay, okay. Uh...I'd say about fifty. Possibly more," she said hesitantly. "Uh, Kaien? Kaien! Why arn't you answering me?"

Kaien just stood there listening to Miyako shout continuously in his ear. He could probably handle about five by himself, but fifty? That was just ridiculous. He wondered if he should ask Issin and Ichigo for help, but decided against it. They were already suspicious of him, so why go and make it worse?

He turned back to the shaking class and his glaring relatives and decided that he'd better act like Byakuya again. "Okay. Something came up so I can't teach anybody anything today. And unless one of you can teach the class, I suggest you do so. I might be back later, or for the next lesson. Or maybe never..." he muttered the last part.

Then, Keigo got tired of keeping his mouth shut. "What! Why is the world so cruel to me! Now my teachers are ditching me along with my so-called friends!" he sobbed, lunging at Ichigo, who raised a fist, thus hitting Keigo right in the face.

"Shut up, Keigo."

Keigo started his crying crap again and ran to the corner of the room screaming something about how everyone was betraying him and he would die alone and miserable. Kaien mentally chuckled to himself as he watched Ichigo trying to calm himself down. He was definitely part of this family. Unfortunately, he probably wouldn't see them again. As he went to walk out the door, Tatsu burst through the door.

"I suggest you get going. Now!"

"Okay, okay. I was just leaving. I think class might have to be dismissed now though."

Tatsu put on that evil grin that made him seem like a very sly Yamamoto and said, "Why don't you let Issin help you?"

Kaien glared at him. He knew what he was playing at and didn't like it. "Uh...I've got to go. See ya!"

Ichigo was not happy with him just leaving so he tried to stop it. "Hey! You never answered our question, you bastard!"

"Deal with it. Oh, and keep her here no matter what," he said pointing to Rukia. "If I find out she left this _room_, it will be you I come after. Got it!"

Ichigo looked dumbstruck. He couldn't believe that he had just ordered him to keep Rukia safe. He just nodded slightly.

"Ichigo!"

Kaien turned to see Rukia messing with her soul tracker thingy. They never told them what those damn things were actually called, which annoyed him to an unusual extent. She finished pressing the necessary buttons and Ichigo went over and looked at the screen. A surprised look crossed his face as he muttered "Arrancar..."

"Now you see why I don't want her leaving this room. I don't want you leaving this room either. So stay here!" Kaien snapped.

Ichigo looked both amazed and confused. "But there are more than fifty! Are you stupid or crazy?"

Kaien thought about that for a moment. "I'd have to say crazy. It kinda runs in the family." With that he walked out of the room and put a binding spell on the door. He highly doubted there was anyone in that room who could break it, so he didn't really worry.

He ran out the door and took out the soul candy container and put a piece in his mouth, thus departing from his body and appearing as a soul reaper. He shouted a quick order for his body to go to his house and stay there and continued on his way to the park, which was where the arrancar were supposed to appear. As he was running he felt a familiar person following him. He stopped and looked behind him to see Issin running toward him in shinigami form. Kaien guessed that he found an excuse to use the bathroom and used a piece of soul candy as well.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Kaien?" Issin snapped.

"Huh?" Kaien asked. He had no clue to what he was talking about, but he guessed it wasn't good.

Issin glared at him and explained, "We all thought you were dead. And then you just pop up out of nowhere and start teaching? Why didn't you tell anyone?" Yep. He was definitely in trouble.

"Well, I didn't know that there was anyone I would know living here. And I don't think it would help if old man Yamamoto found out right away. I just got my life back on track!" Kaien said sheepishly.

"You have a life in the Soul Society, you idiot. You knew I was somewhere in the living world, too. You could've looked me up and asked for help," Issin explained sadly.

Kaien noticed an increase in spiritual pressure and said, "We don't have time for this. We need to get rid of the arrancar _now._ This can wait 'til later."

"Good point. Let's go."

A/N: Yay! Okay, I didn't really have a good reason for my 'Yay!' but it just seemed appropriate at the time. I was very hyper when I wrote this and it took a lot of time to calm me down. I'm still deciding how many chapters this story should have. I suck at starting stories and ending them. Everything in between those two things is easy. Well, I'll try not to wait too long to update again.


	8. What Do You Mean They're All Dead!

Disclaimer: I don't own bleach or any of the characters. I'm too evil to create something that great.

For those of you who are kind enough to review and/or follow this story like your lives depended on it, I'm sorry it took so long to update. This story. I'm sorry to say that this won't be a particularly long chapter, but it should occupy you guys for a while. I'm still in a bit of a writer's block phase for this story. Ideas pop into my head when I'm trying to sleep, but for some reason, none pop up for this story very often lately. I'm in a bit of a vampire phase right now. All of my stories are being updated at least around one in the morning. Anyways, enjoy the eighth chapter!

* * *

Issin and Kaien ran toward what Kaien guessed had to be the thickest woods in the area. They were using shunpo so they had to be careful not to run into trees, which they both had a bit of a problem in that area. Kaien heard his phone beep and looked at it questioningly.

"What the hell?!"

Issin walked over to him and looked at his phone over Kaien's shoulder.

"They've all disappeared!" Issin couldn't believe it. They were on the radar only moments ago, but now they just vanished out of thin air!

"Not exactly."

They swung around to see a man with teal colored hair and part of a mask stuck to his face. The drew their zanpakutous out of their sheaths and prepared to fight the arrancar.

The man calmly raised his arms, palms forward to signal that he wasn't there to fight. "Calm down, shinigami. I'm Grimmjow. I didn't come to fight. Just helping you guys out with the weak arrancar."

They lowered their weapons and looked at each other, both thinking _'What the hell is going on here?!'_. Grimmjow smiled and lowered his hands when they re-sheathed their swords. "I was actually expecting to come across Ichigo."

"What do you want with him!" Issin asked dangerously, his hand going back to his zanpakutou.

Grimmjow chuckled and raised his hands like he had done only moments ago and said, "Calm down. We're not enemies anymore! I switched sides a long time ago."

"Why?" Kaien asked. This guy was interesting. He wanted to know as much as possible.

"Got tired of Aizen telling me what to do and how hard to fight," he said as though it were the simplest thing in the world. "And the reason I came was that I just wanted to know how the brat was doing, when I noticed all the arrancar that got into the living world."

"Oh...thanks..." they both said at the same time.

Grimmjow thought for a moment then asked, "So, why aren't you two in the Seireitei like the other good shinigami?"

"They think we're dead," Issin answered. He was thoroughly convinced that this guy wasn't their enemy and decided to trust him for the moment.

"That's a good reason."

There was a short, but thick silence until Grimmjow said, "Well, I better get going. Tell Ichigo I said hi." And with that, he turned and walked back into Hueco Mundo by the use of a strange black hole thing.

"That was...weird," Kaien commented dryly.

"Yeah...Well, we'd better get back," Issin said and started walking back the way they came.

"I don't want to teach them!" Kaien complained like he did when he was a kid.

Issin chuckled softly at the memory of Kaien pulling on his clothes and complaining about whatever was bothering him. "Tough!"

"Dammit!"

"Watch your mouth, Kaien!"

They looked at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter. Kaien hadn't been this happy in a long time. Issin was just happy to see that his younger brother was still alive and as obnoxious as ever.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They got back to the dojo an hour later to find Tatsu teaching the class as though nothing was wrong. Tatsu heard the door open and halted his demonstration of whatever he was doing.

"That was an awfully long bathroom break, Dad," Ichigo commented.

"You have no idea!" Issin laughed, then unexpectedly lunged forward towards him.

"Dammit! Back off you psychotic excuse for a parent!" Ichigo screamed as he fought off his insane father. Kaien just laughed.

Issin stood up and looked at Kaien seriously. "What are you laughing at?"

"Not much," Kaien smirked.

"Watch it. You could get hurt," Issin warned. Kaien could've sworn he heard Ichigo in the background say, "You couldn't hurt a piece of tissue paper!"

"I'm the teacher. You can't tell me what to do!" Kaien said proudly.

"I'm older, so deal with it!"

"Dammit!"

"Language, Kaien!"

A/N: Told you it'd be short. I don't have much to say here, but I think I might have spelled a few things wrong...Oh, well.


	9. Strange Introductions

Dislcaimer: I own nothing! I can guarantee it! You want proof?...Well...~runs away~

I am so, so sorry for not updating for so long. Writers block is horrible. Seriously; I've been trying to get an idea for so long, it makes my head hurt to just think about it. Well, I don't have a clear idea still, so I'm just gonna wing it. Hope you like it anyway.

* * *

Ichigo still looked pissed beyond belief. He didn't seem to like how Isshin and Kaien were buddy-buddy all of a sudden. Kaien couldn't really blame him. He pops up out of the blue, he looks just like Ichigo (with a few exceptions), he's over-protective of Rukia, and well, he's just _there _all of a sudden.

"Now would somebody like to tell me _what the hell is going on_?" Ichigo growled at the two adults.

Isshin and Kaien looked at each otehr and growled simultaniously. "Uh..."

Rukia didn't look necessarily mad, but confused and scared as hell. "Kaien-dono?" she sqeaked.

Ichigo looked at her in surprise. He'd never heard her sound so...small. "Rukia? Do you know this guy?"

Her only response was a nod.

"You know," Kaien cut into the awkwardness, "I had a nightmare just like this last night. I have to say, I expected something different. Except for you," Kaien added, gesturing to Ichigo. "Your reaction to seeing me was about the same."

"Uh...Class dismissed!" Isshin yelled to be heard, even though it wasn't necessary, as the room was dead quiet.

Even though Kaien would normally object to his older brother overpowering his athority, all he said was, "Yeah, what he said."

The students looked pretty aggrivated at being dismissed so easily. They wanted to know what was going on, but listened to Isshin. They only really did so when he was serious, mainly because it was down-right scary. The only ones who didn't leave were Chad, Orihime, Uryuu, Karin, Yuzu, Tatsuki, Jinta, Ururu, and somehow a black cat that had managed to sneak in.

"Why didn't the rest of you leave? I understand you two little ones," Kaien said, meaning Karin and Yuzu, "but the rest of you are a complete mystery to me?"

"Let 'em stay, Kaien. They'll find out eventually from Ichigo or Rukia," Isshin said. Kaien gave him and odd look.

"Do you mean they know about everything?" Kaien asked, amazed. They looked like average teens.

The skinny one, Uryuu Ishida, pushed up his glasses so that they glinted and said, "We're curious. If you're name is 'Shiba', that would make you related to Ganju, which is interesting enough on its own. But you also look too much like Ichigo."

Kaien blinked like an owl. Damn. That guy sure knew how to explain things well enough. "Well...uh...Isshin, this is your time to shine." Kaien made a bowing gesture and moved out of the way, as to let Isshin 'take the stage.'

"Well...Kaien is my younger brother..." Isshin said hesitantly. A few moments passed before the group gave them their response to the shocking news. All of them spoke at once.

"WHAT?"

* * *

A/N: Well, that should pacify you guys long enough for me to get a few more ideas. This won't be a super long story, but it still has more that six chapters to go. Sorry this one was so short, by the way. It's nearly 2 A.M and I need to update my other stories by the end of this weekend. I've got ten stories posted and seven of them are incomplete. And all together, including this one, I've updated on three of them. So I've got a bit of work set ahead of me.


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